Happy Earth Day!

Because today is Earth Day, I am reposting bits from an old post from Blog Action Day and listing some earth-friendly brands that I’ve the pleasure of trying:

Endangered Species donates a portion of their chocolate bar proceeds to help, well, endangered species. I’ve only formally reviewed one of their bars, but I’ve tasted several of them (including the wolf, panther, dolphin, and rain forest) and have loved them all. Endangered Species makes really good chocolate that holds its own against Scharffen Berger and the like, which is especially admirable when they could be just coasting on their environmental pledge.

Theo 3400 Phinney Bars are fair trade (they pay above the market price for beans so that cacao growers can earn a living wage) and organic. I’ve reviewed some of their line and loved the chai bar. Sadly, I can no longer find this brand in my library’s cafe.

Dagoba bars, sold under Hershey’s artisan confections line, are certified organic, and I’ve reviewed several and tried more that I haven’t formally reviewed (the Superfruit is okay, the Conacado is nutty, and the Xocolatl is too spicy and is not as good as other chili chocolate bars).

Green and Black’s is, I think, one of the earliest chocolate brands to be on the organic bandwagon. I haven’t formally reviewed any of their bars, but I can tell you that their milk bar tastes like the inside of a Cadbury mini-egg.

I don’t know how to reconcile the carbon footprint of chocolate. Unless you live in South or Central America or Africa, you’re not going to be able to have chocolate on a locavore diet. Then again, measuring the carbon footprint of food is so hard (is local better for the environment? or organic? or even efficiently mass-produced?) that it may not be a good guideline. But now, at least, environmental awareness is present in the candy industry. There are now several brands of organic bars out there, and many non-organic companies may have an organic line.

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Today is Blog Action Day, when blogs around the world post on the same topic to raise awareness. This year, we?re bloggging about the environment. In the candy world, I?ve taken that to mean blogging about organic and fair trade candy.

As you can see from a quick Amazon.com search, there are hundreds of organic candies, organic chocolates, fair trade candies, and fair trade chocolates.

I haven?t reviewed much organic stuff on this site, mostly because organic candy is pricier than the average Hershey bar, and I?m a college student who is far from being financially secure. But I?ve still managed to hit a few: Larabars and their Jocalat line use only fair trade and organic ingredients, Vosges claims a green mission on their website, and I think the truffles I got at Whole Foods were green in some way, if only because they came from Whole Foods. Sustainable food is HUGE at Yale, and I can promise you that organic desserts, even when mass produced by the dining halls, is sinfully delicious.

I?ve seen Dagoba bars (BUY!) and Yummy Earth Lollipops (BUY!) at the campus convenience store. I wanted to buy some and try them in time to review for my Blog Action Day post, but I?ve had a nasty cold for the past week, so I haven?t been tasting new things because my sense of taste is compromised. I?m nearly fully recovered though, and I?ll hopefully be able to have those reviews up within the next couple of weeks.

While my site?s sustainable candy section is regrettably sparse, Cybele?s got a whole category on her site for organic candy reviews and tips on how to go green for Halloween.

I hope you learned something from today?s post! I know I did in putting it together.